Villain Protagonists
by Volcanic
Summary: At some point, they must have realized how alike they once were. These are short stories revolving around Piccolo and Vegeta; their similarities, rivalries and their eventual mutual respect and friendship. The stories are stand alone and set at different points in DBZ timeline. Rated T for language. Please read and review.
1. Deadpan Snarkers

Meditating alone in the desert was not something Piccolo ever thought that he would miss. In fact after spending the majority of his life meditating in a wide variety of extreme climates, he had imagined any time not spent alone in his own head would be a welcome change.

Though this part of his life had been before Gohan, and before anyone on earth had even heard of a Saiyan, and of course before his brief stint in the afterlife. In the last few years Piccolo had seen a drastic spike in his social circle, though this drastic increase constituted of exactly two people who would willingly speak to him. Well two people and a whole host of uneasy allies, who though still scared, were not outright terrified of him. Except Krillin, but Piccolo was convinced Krillin was terrified of pretty much anything.

He was not entirely sure what had possessed him to accept Goku's offer to train with him every day until the arrival of the androids. There were of course a number of completely reasonable explanations. First and foremost Piccolo was in no rush to die again, secondly Son was an amazing sparring partner, also training with him meant that he could spend more time with Gohan and continue to oversee his training, and in his own way he enjoyed the companionship. Though Piccolo would ever admit any of these reasons to anyone out loud, ever. He expected Son Goku knew all of this already. That bastard could be dumb as a rock but he was oddly perceptive, especially when it came to Piccolo's feelings.

Piccolo however had perhaps overestimated how much of Son he could handle in any given day. Since training to take down Raditz, Piccolo and Son had not spent a great deal of time on the same plant, or even of the same plane of existence. Piccolo was not prepared to deal with living alongside his former arch rival.

God, if he thought GOHAN was talkative, his father was exponentially worse. He could prattle on for hours and hours every day, about food of all things, even after several reminders that Piccolo did not in fact eat. He had also decided to give Piccolo a nickname. Inwardly Piccolo swore to himself that if Son called him 'Pic' one more time he would rip his face off. He could tolerate Gohan calling him Mr. Piccolo at least that denoted some measure of respect. But 'Pic' no part of Piccolo invited such a diminutive nickname.

Though he secretly admitted to himself, despite how annoying he could be. He couldn't kill Son Goku now. He could no longer muster up the old anger and rage that Son had once inspired in him. That did not mean however that he wished to spend every waking moment in his presence. After four months of close proximity training Piccolo had enthusiastically agreed to ChiChi's suggestion that Sunday's be a 'family day' and that Gohan and Goku were forbidden to train. He was sure his quick acceptance of the plan had surprised ChiChi who thought his entire life revolved around disrupting her home life and trying to turn her son into a delinquent warrior.

_Though to be fair_, Piccolo thought, _she's not wrong._

At this point however anything that guaranteed Piccolo at least one day to meditate in silence it was a blessing. Piccolo closed his eyes and prepared to enter a deep meditative state, shifting his position slightly to return circulation to his right foot.

His eyes almost immediately snapped open as he felt a familiar ki approach.

_'So much for my Saiyan free day'_ he thought standing up and shedding his cape and turban _'and so much for solitude'_

Though he had to admit Vegeta's arrival to the desert brought with it the promise of an amazing spar.

* * *

><p>Several hours later Piccolo and Vegeta sat apart, breathing heavily. The rubble of the previously cliff filled desert were scattered haphazardly around them. Thousands of years of geological progression reduced to rubble. <p>

"So I guess we'll call this one a draw eh?" Piccolo rotated his wrist where he had just finished regrowing his hand after a chi blast had singed it off. 

"Just because we hit the ground at the same time does NOT mean we are done this fight Namek. If you would like to continue where we left off I can show you the true might of a Saiyan elite." Vegeta said beginning to lift himself out of the rubble. 

"I think it's better to just call it here, one more hit and your ribs will go from bruised to broken and I'll never hear the end of it for delaying your training. Besides it's common knowledge that any sparring match ends when a limb gets severed." 

"Whatever" Vegeta scoffed glancing at Piccolo's newly grown hand and trying not to wince as he felt his ribs shifting as he moved. "You can just keep regrowing body parts, it's all you lizards are good for." 

Piccolo chose to ignore the lizard comment. "Just because I CAN regrow body parts, monkey, does not mean I ENJOY it. It is not as easy or as painless as I make it look." 

Vegeta coloured at the monkey comment but did not rise to it. Piccolo smirked. Talking with Vegeta did not happen very often. Men like Vegeta and himself normally preferred to talk with their fists. Usually conversations only occurred after they had both thoroughly depleted their ki in battle that verbal sparring was all they had the energy to do. After spars such as this they were forced to sit together until they had recovered enough ki to fly back to their respective homes. 

Piccolo did admit that this communication conducted entirely through bravado and sarcasm was something he felt at home with, and thoroughly enjoyed. It was much easier to deal with than the straight forward and honest way that Son spoke to him. 

"Speaking of monkey's" Vegeta shot back "how is training with Kakarot and his brat?" 

Piccolo shrugged, his shoulder popping audibly as he moved "It's fine sparring with a REAL Super Saiyan keeps you on your toes." 

Piccolo smirked as he watch Vegeta turn red, and then turn purple and a vein become increasingly visible in his temple. _'Pushing his buttons should not be this fun'_ Piccolo thought _'and yet…'_

"By the time these Androids appear I will have surpassed Kakarot, regained my rightful title as the strongest fighter in the universe and wipe that no good, third class, idiot off the face of this wretched mud ball of a planet."Vegeta did an admirable job keeping his tone even as he spoke. He would have loved to punch the smirk off the Namek's face. The only thing preventing this was his severely limited ki and the growing throbbing in his ribs as the multiple fractures he had sustained made themselves known. 

"I'm sure," sarcasm dripped from Piccolo's voice as he popped his shoulder back into its socket. 

"Mark my words Namek, I will kill Kakarot, you will count yourself lucky if I do not end your miserable life as well." 

"Well," Piccolo began choosing to ignore Vegeta's all too real threat to his life "If you are planning on killing Son, there is a fairly long line."

A disbelieving look from Vegeta was all Piccolo received in response. 

"He's made a fair amount of enemies over the years; in all honestly you'd have to take a number." 

"Like who" scoffed Vegeta. From what he had seen everyone on earth seemed ready to fall over themselves extolling Kakarot's virtues. "Kakarot may as well be the fucking mascot for this planet's pathetic bunch of warriors."

"Me for one" Piccolo snapped back. 

"You?" Vegeta then paused to laugh. It was Piccolo's turn to blush, the tips of his ears turning purple as Vegeta continued his laughter. 

"You?" Vegeta continued trying to contain his disbelief, "what could Kakarot have possibly done to make you want to kill him? You live with him for god's sake, you babysit his stupid brat, hell you may as well be the president of his fucking fan club." 

Piccolo raised an eye ridge at Vegeta "You have no idea do you?" 

"No idea of what" Vegeta replied returning the stare. 

"Of anything! Of anything that happened that happened before you showed up! We had lives before you and your idiot partner decided to crash land on our planet and seriously screw up all our lives." 

"Should I care?" Vegeta's flippant tone implied he did not "Besides I refuse to believe that you could want to kill Kakarot, this is surely some terrible Namekian attempt at humor." 

"You want to know what Son did to make me want to kill him, eh?" Piccolo took Vegeta's non-committal shrug as the closest to a yes that he was going to get. "Well for starters he killed my father…." 

"Bullshit" Vegeta interjected. "Kakarot killing someone? You must be joking, he didn't kill ME after I allowed half his friends to be murdered in cold blood, he didn't kill Frieza for god's sake, FRIEZA! And you want me to believe he killed your father?" 

"Yes" Piccolo was completely deadpan "he killed my father. Though to be honest given that he had murdered a fair portion of Son's friends and was hell-bent on destroying the world and populating it completely with demons, Son probably did the right thing. In fact I was born with the sole purpose of avenging my father, killing Son and destroying the earth. A plan that got indefinitely sidetracked by idiot monkey's from space continuing to visit the planet." 

Vegeta ignored the monkey moniker yet again, trying to absorb Piccolo's backstory. "Are you trying to tell me you were literally born to kill Kakarot." 

"Yeah" Piccolo smiled to himself "In fact, next to me and my righteous quest for revenge, your reason for wanting to kill Son is, well, rather trite." 

If looks could kill Piccolo was one hundred percent certain that chunks of himself would be scattered across the dessert. 

"As if you could ever HOPE to kill Kakarot, Namek. That is a luxury that is mine and mine alone" As he yelled Vegeta stood up bringing himself to his full height. 

"Whatever" Piccolo shrugged still seated "I've already killed him anyway" 

"The fight with Raditz does not count! Nappa and I received the footage of that battle. Kakarot sacrificed himself, he let himself be killed." Vegeta yelled standing over Piccolo. 

"A kill is a kill," Piccolo said, finally standing and beginning to dust himself off "besides it's not like it matters anyway. You've probably noticed no one stays dead for very long." 

"So why don't you try to kill him then, put him down for good? If your motivation for killing him is SO great why do you train with him? Why are you friends with him" venom dripped from every word. 

"I have no interest in killing him. You'll see soon enough. Son, he has a way of making his enemies into allies out of necessity. Then before you know it he turns these allies into friends. You don't even now it's happening. Before you know it, you respect the guy. Eventually all the anger is gone" Piccolo finished not looking at Vegeta, but out into the desert where the sun was beginning to set. 

Vegeta however was glaring in the opposite direction toward the Son household. "That will never happen to me Namek. I refuse to become allies with that idiot. He is a disgrace to the Saiyan race. I am only sticking around to kill Kakarot, and because the androids pose an interesting challenge for a warrior of my caliber. Nothing more." 

"You say that now Vegeta, hell I said the same thing. Eight or nine years ago after Son saved my life instead of ending it I swore revenge on him. But people like you and I…" Piccolo paused here unsure of how to continue. Unsure of how to put his feelings into words, he was not used to speaking this much about his past or about his feelings regarding Son. "…People like you and I, we live our lives motivated by anger and loneliness. We will always react to someone like Son, someone who remains so positive in the face of anything. He will always change people. He has that power." 

Piccolo knew that he hadn't articulated the sentiment properly but it was the closest he could come. He did not understand his own change fully. 

"Speak for yourself Namek" Vegeta turned to face Piccolo " I will never stop trying to kill Kakarot, I will never not want him dead, do not ever presume to compare yourself to me again. We are nothing alike despite your pathetic attempt at solidarity." 

Piccolo internally rolled his eyes. Why was he even making an effort to connect to Vegeta of all people. Probably since despite his insistence to the contrary he and Vegeta had more than a few things in common, though he very much doubted Vegeta wanted to hear any of them. 

"I am a Prince, Namek, you'd do well to remember that fact before trying to speak to me so candidly." Vegeta tossed his hair looking smug. 

"Well if my father wasn't just running his mouth about being royalty, I'm the Demon King, so I think I outrank you there." 

"Demon, what?" Vegeta balked. "You know what. I do not care. Namek you are clearly insane and I refuse to listen to any more of your fucking backstory." 

"Suit yourself" Piccolo smiled at Vegeta showing off his fangs "I was just trying to make friendly conversation." 

Vegeta's expression let Piccolo know the obvious sarcasm had not been missed. '_It__ should not be this much fun to annoy him'_ thought Piccolo as he watched Vegeta prepare to leave _'maybe I am less of a good guy then I thought'_

Vegeta turned to leave. Thinking for a moment he decided to turn toward Piccolo and have the last word. "You know Namek, I thought you were an idiot when you threw yourself in front of Nappa's blast to save that brat's life. Hearing all of this drivel today has made me even more sure of that fact. I cannot believe you would kill yourself for a child. Let alone the child of your sworn enemy. You will NEVER see me doing something that stupid." 

"No" Piccolo said mostly to himself, as he watched Vegeta preparing to fly off, "I doubt that I will" 

"Good spar though" Piccolo said to no one in particular as Vegeta rocketed into the sky toward capsule corp.

* * *

><p>Piccolo sat down and tried once again to meditate. As he began to regulate his breathing and relax his muscles his thoughts once again turned to Vegeta. He did not know why Vegeta managed to get on his nerves so easily. Probably because seeing Vegeta was a bit like seeing an unflattering portrait of himself at a younger age, full of anger and self-importance. Perhaps on some level Vegeta also saw a bit of himself in Piccolo. It would explain why since coming to reside on Earth Vegeta had sought him out several times to spar. Even though they had never discussed their similarities there had always been an unspoken understanding. Or in the very least an appreciation for one another's sarcasm.<p>

Piccolo sighed, speaking at such length about his past had brought up some confusing emotions he had not thought about in a long while. He decided he would spend the rest of the night meditating on them.

At least that was the plan, until Piccolo's overly sensitive hearing picked up a faint crinkling noise, followed by the sharp smell of ozone. And then seemingly out of thin air Son Goku appeared over top him landing squarely on Piccolo and throwing both of them into an undignified heap on the desert floor. 

"Son I swear to God if you ever drop on to me like that again I will decorate this desert with your intestines" 

"Yeah, yeah" Goku said distractedly untangling himself from Piccolo and standing up, "So I felt Vegeta's power level earlier, I tried to come out to spar with you guys but ChiChi caught me and gave me that look, you know that look , the one that says you're in huge trouble and…" 

Piccolo nodded half listening to Son ramble on about his wife and her displeasure. He was getting quite adept at tuning Son out when he began to go off on a conversational tangent, which was quite often. 

"He's still hell-bent on killing you, you know" Piccolo interjected. 

"Oh, he'll come around" Goku replied nonplussed. "I mean you came around. And you were WAY scarier than Vegeta." 

I suppose so, though Gohan gets most of the credit for the conversion" Piccolo shot back. 

"I deserve credit too" Goku sulked "I mean I didn't kill you and I gave you a senzu and everything." 

"Yeah, yeah" said Piccolo quickly not wanting this to turn into an argument. Son was much less fun to argue with than Vegeta was. Mainly because Son's main tactic in arguments was to look like a kicked puppy. 

"Anyway there is no need to be jealous of Vegeta, You'll always be my very first arch-rival Pic." 

"Son, what have I told you about using that idiotic nickname to refer to me!" Piccolo fumed. 

"Sorry, Pic.." Piccolo glared eyes flashing red "…Piccolo" Goku finished hands raised in mock surrender. "Now let's go home. Gohan wanted me to come and get you so he could show you this drawing he's been working on all day, he's really proud of it." Goku held out his hand in Piccolo's direction. 

Piccolo sighed and reached out to take the hand. It never ceased to amaze him how casually Son acted around him. Even though a few years ago he may have torn Son's arm off if it was so casually presented to him. The way he spoke to him and treated him made him feel so, normal. 

'_Vegeta will come around' _Piccolo thought glancing one last time in the direction Vegeta had flown off in _'and when he does, I will rub this conversation in his smug face. But for now let him be fueled by anger. I'm just glad that's not my life anymore.'_ And in the moment before Son used his instant transmission to teleport them out of the desert. Piccolo realized how fundamentally different he had become in the past few years and how glad he was to have allies and friends. And, though he still had numerous other faults, Piccolo could no longer count holding a grudge against Son Goku as one of them.

* * *

><p>AN

Well hello there . It's been a while, a long while. Though I have been actively reading fanfiction I have not written anything in a long time. Though with this story I seek to remedy that.

I have always been fascinated as someone who watched Dragonball before watching DBZ how similar Piccolo and Vegeta's character arcs were and how well they were both done over the course of both series. I also felt that Vegeta and Piccolo had a unique relationship later in DBZ it was some kind of mutual respect thing. I assumed that it was a result of them both being former antagonists and finding common ground in that. Though it struck me this was never explicitly explored or state in the canon.

So here is my humble attempt to bridge those gaps via fanfiction. This will eventually be three stand-alone stories.

See you soon

-V

PS. It's nice to know after all these years FFN still messed up your formatting royally.


	2. Antagonist in Mourning

It was over,

It was, for the first time in Vegeta's life, things seemed to be truly and completely over.

Since he could remember there was always the promise of a fight looming in his immediate future.

As a small child it had been the fight to earn his father's respect. The original King Vegeta had no use for weaklings, especially when they were members of his family. Vegeta knew, even then that he would be useless to his father if he was not strong.

Even though that strength had not made much of a difference when Frieza came along.

Then it was a fight to survive under Frieza's rule, the fight to purge planets, and the fight to hopefully, eventually become stronger than Frieza, strong enough to kill him, strong enough to take revenge on him for taking away his planet, and his birthright.

Then there was the fight on Earth, which he supposed had been the real turning point in his fairly monotonous life. Earth was supposed to be easy, kill the natives, get the dragon balls, and become immortal. It has seemed so simple. Obviously the plans had changed, significantly.

Namek had been nothing but fights, Dodoria, Zarbon, the Ginyu Force, and finally at long last a fight with Frieza.

The fighting had only stopped when he was dead.

The news he received upon his resurrection had only strengthened his resolve and his greatest fight had begun, the fight to surpass Kakarot, to become a Super Saiyan, the fight to kill Kakarot and kill him for daring to achieve all of Vegeta's goals.

And Vegeta had achieved those goals, he had become a Super Saiyan, he had surpassed all of his limitations and become the legendary warrior he was always meant to be.

Even though that strength had not made any difference to the Androids or to Cell.

Kakarot was gone. And his brat had surpassed the both of them. And Vegeta did not feel like fighting anymore, he just felt lost.

For the first time in, well in forever there was foreseeable peace in Vegeta's future if he chose to say on earth.

_Why even STAY on earth? _He wondered to himself. _What is there for me here now_? True he had a lover, and his son was here, but such trysts had never kept him on a planet before. He had to admit, though the woman was not the first lover he had taken on an alien planet, she was the most interesting and by far the smartest. And he had never had the future of a child to think about before.

Vegeta shook his head violently, such weak thoughts where unbecoming of him, the Prince of Saiyans, his people did not mate for life and they certainly did not take their mates or offspring into account when contemplating life decision. When had he become so soft as to even entertain those ideas? Clearly the Earthlings were infecting him with their familial sentiments. He should endeavor to leave Earth as soon as possible.

But, when had leaving earth become such a painful thought?

No. The real reason he had stayed was to defect Kakarot, to regain his honour. He had only stuck around the earth so long was to face the challenges it frequently presented to a warrior of his caliber. That was all there was to it, wasn't it?

Despite the empty feeling the thought of combat roused in him Vegeta decided he needed the distraction. He had never been particularly good at addressing his feelings; instead he had pushed into the background, using them as fuel to grow stronger, to push himself farther in his training. He had no idea how to deal with what was happening now, other than to distract himself. Kakarot's brat despite the power he had shown in the fight against Cell would not be a good fight; he was too unstable, too unpredictable.

No, he knew who to seek out for a consistently challenging fight. Though their power levels were not remotely on par Vegeta supposed that he was the best option he had left.

* * *

><p>Piccolo sensed Vegeta approaching the lookout long before his arrival. He was not particularly shocked by the impending visit, though he was surprised at the raw aggression and the confusion that was evident in Vegeta's ki. He wondered offhandedly if Vegeta knew that he was projecting his feelings so plainly, though few people could determine emotion through ki, Piccolo was unsure if Vegeta was aware that it was possible to do.<p>

Uncrossing himself from the lotus position Piccolo crossed the rim of the lookout to the direction Vegeta was approaching from and waited. He was not entirely sure what to expect upon arrival Vegeta had been….unstable, to say the least in the week since the fight with Cell and Son's decision to stay in the afterlife. Piccolo had been busy dealing with Gohan's reaction to the news and trying to adjust Dende to the earth and to his new duties to pay much attention to Vegeta's existential crisis. Besides any overt concern from his end would have been rejected, he knew what Vegeta was going through, but any advice from him would have only served to make him angrier. Unsolicited advice to Vegeta rarely went well.

* * *

><p>Vegeta landed on the lookout in a blaze of ki barley slowing his decent enough to avoid cracking the white tiles. Piccolo felt his eye twitch, whatever there was left of Kami in his subconscious felt VERY strongly about keeping the Lookout free of damage.<p>

"Namek, fight me" Vegeta demanded, fists clenched and eyes blazing.

"Nice to see you too, Vegeta" Piccolo replied rolling his eyes. Vegeta looked like hell, his already messy hair was wild from the flight and he looked like he hadn't slept in a week, and if Piccolo's nose was anything to go by he also had not properly bathed in just as long. "If you'd like to spar we can, though we are not doing it here"

"Why in the hell not Namek?" Vegeta had not get unclenched his fists, raw aggression was apparent in every gesture.

"Because it is three in the god damned morning, and the lookout is not a battle ground, people live here and two of them are asleep." Piccolo doubted Vegeta would listen to reason, but he was not willing to deal with Mr. Popo learning he or Vegeta had destroyed the Lookout's gardens with a stray ki blast. "If you want to fight we can do it in the desert."

"The desert is freezing this time of night there is no way you are dragging me out there" Vegeta stared at Piccolo like he was insane for even proposing the location change. Piccolo was shocked Vegeta had the forethought to argue against the desert based on the temperature. Being Namekian prevented Piccolo from feeling cold; he had forgotten how inconvenient other races could be.

"Fine then we can wait for dawn; if you want to spar with me so badly you can hold off for a few hours." Piccolo returned Vegeta's stare. They continued their silent battle of will for several seconds before Vegeta snapped his head away.

"Have it your way Namek, if you want to stall and get your ass handed to you at dawn that is your prerogative. I will wait." Vegeta sat down on the tile roughly.

Piccolo was shocked at the acquiesce from Vegeta of all people. Piccolo figured he must be truly conflicted if immediate reaction had not been to lash out physically for the disagreement. Piccolo shook his head; he remembered those feelings after Son's first death. The confusion, the emptiness, the anger. How the anger had differed from the anger he had used to motivate his entire life. The eventual realization that finally killing Son had done nothing to improve his life, had done nothing to ease his crushing loneliness. He lacked an appropriate outlet for these feelings he had taken them out on Gohan during their training. Eventually Gohan in his own kindness had helped him come to terms with the fact that he did not want to kill Son anymore, with the reality that having a friend was worth more than garnering the fear of millions of people. Gohan had continued to change him for the better as well as help him accept the idea that he had in some way fundamentally changed.

Piccolo had no idea how to help Vegeta. Even though they were so alike, even though Piccolo knew what he was feeling, there was no way to reach out to him emotionally. Having him an arm's reach away drove this point home the idiot monkey was completely guarded mentally and physically. Piccolo sighed as he sat down in his usual louts position. Piccolo wondered to himself why he even felt the need to reach out to him? Perhaps this need to play therapist/ father figure was some undesired side effect of his fusion with Kami, he would have to look into that. Perhaps with Son gone he was subconsciously trying to find another friend? In any case he could wait, strategy was his strong suit. Vegeta would crack before he did. Whether he cracked and asked for advice or cracked and blew up the Lookout remained to be seen. Though Piccolo had a feeling that Vegeta even coming to the Lookout had been a big step.

* * *

><p>Vegeta was fuming. It had been an hour and the idiot Namekian had not moved or acknowledged his presence once since their initial conversation on his arrival. He had come for a spar, the only thing Piccolo was remotely decent for, and had been completely rebuffed. Vegeta had come here to punch things until his head was clear, to loose himself in battle, not sit in silence and continue to dwell. Being ignored was not something Vegeta could handle on a good day, let alone right now.<p>

_'I should destroy this stupid floating palace_' he thought. Though he knew it would not bring him any satisfaction. This knowledge threw him even further into confusion. When had destruction failed to cheer him up? Even the thought of it usually brought him joy. How had that idiot's death confused everything so significantly? How did Kakarot have such a hold on him?

Vegeta once again focused on staring at Piccolo. He knew the Namek could feel his stare, yet he continued to sit with his eyes closed and his head bowed. Years ago, he recalled Piccolo telling him about how he used to desire Kakarot's death, how he had also fought to defeat him and to surpass him. At the time he had thought the Namek was playing some grand joke on him, pretending to understand him. Later he had consulted with the woman, asking her outright who the fuck the Demon King Piccolo had been. She looked shocked that he would ask but had dug up her scrapbooks from that time. He remembered seeing the newspapers and reports confirming what Piccolo had said. Including one particularly gruesome photo of a younger Kakarot punching through the chest of who he could only assume was the Namek's father.

_'How did you do it?_' Vegeta thought staring at Piccolo, _'how did you let go of a lifetime of anger and just accept that you would never kill Kakarot. never reclaim your honour'_ On some level Vegeta admitted if anyone could help him puzzle through his feelings it was the Namek, but he would rather die than ask for his help.

"It wasn't easy you know" Piccolo said suddenly opening one eye "getting over wanting to kill Son, giving up on being angry."

"WHAT THE HELL NAMEK!" Vegeta yelled jumping to his feet "ARE YOU READING MY MIND?"

"No." Piccolo said completely deadpan "your facial expressions and ki are doing a fantastic job of letting me know what you're thinking."

Vegeta's eyes bored into Piccolo's as he turned a fantastic shade of maroon. He could see Piccolo bracing for impact; the Namek was fairly certain he was going to regret trying to relate to Vegeta. He felt the familiar rage rushing up inside him, the rage that accompanied anyone questioning his pride, or his utter superiority. Vegeta felt comforted at its presence, rage he could understand, sympathy was a foreign concept. Surprisingly, he felt the rage rush out of him as suddenly as it had appeared his head spinning. What would punishing the Namek prove? What good was any of the anger, what use was his pride when the only man he had wanted to defeat was beyond his reach? Would killing the Namek mean killing one of the few people on this mud ball he respected, even minutely?

'_When the hell did I start considering the Namek someone I respected, shit, since when do I respect anyone who isn't me? _Vegeta sat down heavily once again on the tiles of the Lookout. He looked at the Namek and was amused to see a look of genuine shock on his face. Normally Piccolo's emotions were impossible to determine from his facial expression. Such blatant surprise was hilarious.

He watched the Namek's expression return to normal. "If you tell anyone about what you think I thought I will end you." Vegeta said offhandedly.

"Noted,"

"So how did you do it then," Vegeta continued, "how did you go on knowing that you would never be able to kill him knowing you would never reclaim the honour you lost, the honour he took from you, God, how do you continue to go on when everyone around you surpasses you in strength?"

Piccolo again was completely shocked; he was not entirely prepared to hear Vegeta speak so candidly. Though he supposed exhaustion and grief had a fair bit to do with this conversation. Appreciating the point that Vegeta must have been pushed to that he was willing to open up, even a little. He chose to ignore the rather pointed comment at the end regarding his own power level and ineffectiveness. Piccolo's instincts told him to respond sarcastically, to make light of the question. He knew this was a terrible idea, Vegeta had been forthright, and he owed him the same courtesy.

"You start by realizing that there is more to life then fighting to win and prove yourself. You continue by realizing that finding something to protect and fighting for that is much more valuable. And you realize being an evil asshole didn't make you very happy in the first place. As for honour, Son when I lost that fight with Son I had no real honour, I was a desperate, violent child back then. Interacting with Son and Gohan, fighting for the Earth and my home world, dying for my best friend, those are the things that gave me honour. Or as close to it as someone like me came to it anyway. "

"Sentimental crap," Vegeta said quietly, though it made him think back to the fight with Cell, when Trunks had been killed. How his power had meant nothing in the face of being unable to prevent or avenge his death. "You'll never hear me spouting such drivel," Vegeta continued thinking of his infant son and how one day the same thing may happen if he was not strong enough.

"Perhaps not" Piccolo looked out at the sunrise coming up over the edge of the lookout. "I thought the same thing once. I eventually figured out it was better to work with Son then against him. Being friends with him was much more rewarding than wanting to kill him. Take it from me, even when you kill him it backfires on you in the end."

"How so?"

"Well in my experience killing him only prevented him from killing you and Nappa before you could kill me." Piccolo smirked at Vegeta.

Vegeta shook his head; remembering Kakarot showing up seconds after Nappa had finished off Piccolo. Vegeta wondered how the Namek could joke about his death in such a way. He wondered how he could even speak to him. Perhaps as a fellow former earth conquering bad-guy Piccolo could appreciate giving people a second chance? Perhaps dying knowing you were eventually being brought back cheapened the whole experience? Likely he was mildly insane.

"I can't imagine being friends with that idiot being particularly rewarding" Vegeta raised an eyebrow at Piccolo daring him to disagree.

"It wasn't always, easy," Piccolo admitted "I imagine it made me a better person in the end, or something."

"Besides," Vegeta went on "all this high and mighty talk about finding something to fight for and protect, I saw what happened with Cell, you couldn't protect Gohan any more then I could protect Trunks. What good is letting go of your anger if it makes no difference in the end."

Vegeta watched Piccolo's expression darken. He had hit a nerve bringing up Gohan, it was a surefire way to make the Namek upset. Vegeta would never admit to him that he had, in some small way, admired how he had entered the fight with Cell, fully knowing he was going to die to protect Gohan. He wanted to hear his answer.

"I suppose in the end I couldn't do much directly to protect him, no," Piccolo's expression was pained as he admitted this, "though considering I was the one who trained him in the first place, I imagine I am allowed to take partial credit for that victory. Besides if I hadn't stopped wanting to kill Son long enough to train Gohan none of that would have been possible."

"Hmph" was Vegeta's only response.

"I imagine I won't be a particularly good teacher anymore though," Piccolo admitted sadly "I imagine you'd have more luck trying to help him control his transformations, to be honest. "

"Me?" Vegeta was slightly disbelieving the Namek would let him near Kakarot's brat, let alone seriously spar with him. Vegeta realized, even though the brat was stronger than the both of them, letting anyone fight with Gohan was a big deal to Piccolo. "If you think I am going to become some kind of glorified babysitter you are sorely mistaken!"

"I suppose not, besides eventually you'll have you own son to train, I was merely saying that you could train Gohan, eventually once he can control his power he will be an amazing sparring partner and you won't have to come annoy me whenever you need to work out your anger." Piccolo smirked.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes, he knew the Namek was pandering to his pride, but he did have a point. Training the brat now may prove a good investment in the future. "I may, eventually, entertain the idea."

They sat in silence together for a few moments. Vegeta glanced at Piccolo every few seconds trying to decipher what he was thinking. "What the hell do you do when all the fighting stops anyway? I have never had to think particularly far beyond my next battle, I always assumed I would be dead before any kind of a break in the fighting."

"I actually have no idea" Piccolo laughed, shaking his head, "I don't think there has ever been a time where there has been a promise of an extended period of peace like this. I'm with you on the assuming you'd never have to stop fighting. I'm sure some intergalactic freak show will come by and ruin things before very long."

Vegeta nodded in agreement. He wasn't used to the Namek and himself speaking so freely. Usually any limited conversation they had was concealed in sarcasm. Speaking so candidly was unsettling, but also slightly comforting. He respected the Namek, even if he would not ever admit it, he was sure Piccolo knew.

"Enough of this emotional crap, its dawn Namek, you owe me a fight." Vegeta stood up starching his legs after the extended period of sitting.

"Mhm, hold that though" Piccolo raised a hand pointing to the West, "Gohan will be here soon he may want to join."

Vegeta turned to the West beginning to sense the brat's ki coming toward them. "Fine, the two of you may put up a decent challenge for a Saiyan elite such as myself."

They both stood in silence as Gohan neared the Lookout and landed close to Piccolo.

"Good morning Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan ran toward his teacher smiling. Vegeta saw Piccolo give Gohan a small smile before his face resumed its normal, neutral state. "And good morning to you Mr. Vegeta," Gohan said bowing to him before turning his full attention back to Piccolo.

"What brings you here so early Gohan?" Piccolo turned his attention fully to the child as he spoke to him. Vegeta noticed how different the Namek's stature was with Gohan present, how at ease he seemed around him. He also noted the way Gohan looked at Piccolo with such obvious reverence. Vegeta wondered briefly if one day his own son would look at him like that.

"So about that spar Vegeta," Piccolo said turning back to Vegeta, "Gohan and I are ready when you are." Piccolo smiled threateningly, making sure to show every fang, and Gohan beamed at him genuinely excited at the chance at a friendly spar with Vegeta.

"Unlike you weaklings," Vegeta relied haughtily, "I am always ready for a fight"

* * *

><p>As he flew home he smirked to himself. Vegeta would never admit it, but the Namek had helped him. The hollow feeling was still there but it had lessened. Though, he admitted to himself he would never fully let it go, the need to kill Kakarot, to settle their score. It seemed his vow to never fight again was a short lived one; he had been fooling himself when he had said that, fighting was in his blood, it was the last and perhaps the most important legacy of his race.<p>

For now, for now he would help the Namek train Kakarot's brat, to teach him to control his anger. The spar that earlier proved to Vegeta that Gohan would in time become a worthy opponent. But he would continue to train himself as well.

As the Namek himself had once said, no one on Earth stayed dead for very long. He would see Kakarot again one day, and he would settle the score and in the end when he was victorious, he may chose not to return him to the afterlife. Maybe.

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><p>AN:

Big thank you to everyone who has reviewed/followed/faved thus far! Especially to my reviewers Chikyu and bigblukrew. Coming out of fanfiction retirement was a little bit scary and I'm glad people are at least curious to see where this thing is going!

I tried to write from Vegeta's perspective more here, which was not easy since I am not used to writing Vegeta, let alone introspective Vegeta. I hope I did an okay job capturing him, or at least how he would behave in this part of the series.

For anyone reading the first chapter, when you read it on mobile the website italicizes the last 1/5th of the fic. I have no idea why it does this and it appears completely normal on the desktop site. I have no idea how to fix it to be quite honest.

Anyway thank you for sticking with me/ joining me. There will for sure be one more chapter. Possibly two more if my last idea sounds decent on paper and not just in my head!

See you then!

-V


	3. Big Damn Heroes

Quick AN, this is clearly not the final chapter to the story or the conclusion to the collection, just a quick addition while I continue to work on the last chapter which will take place in the Buu Saga.

This takes place after the Super Android 13 movie and is the screenshot I chose to use as the photo for this story. Having seen the movie is not necessary, but it helps

* * *

><p><strong>Post Super Android 13<strong>

To any onlooker it was an impressive scene, two of the planet's strongest warriors resting together after a hard won battle.

For Piccolo and Vegeta, being forced to share space on a glacier floating in the middle of the ocean after having their ki thoroughly depleted by the Spirit Bomb, Goku had just dispatched Android 13 with, was uncomfortable to say the least.

Knowing their 'friends' had probably left the battlefield without giving them a second thought they were forced to wait together before flying their separate ways.

Though they were no longer bitter enemies neither of them considered the other a friend and both preferred their own company and space. The cramped quarters made them both uncomfortable and put them on edge.

_'Well this is boring_' thought Piccolo, normally he would have meditated to pass the time, but he was too exhausted to try to achieve the level of concentration that meditation would take. He was also distracted by a brooding spikey haired egomaniac in his immediate vicinity. He decided that if he couldn't meditate he would default to another activity he enjoyed, provoking Vegeta. Besides he had been wondering about something that seemed common in all their recent fights.

"You know," Piccolo began putting on an intentionally condescending tone, "I never understand why you don't just go Super Saiyan at the beginning of the fights, you guys waste so much time getting the crap beaten out of you before remembering you can achieve a massive power up. It's absurd" Piccolo said, trying to get a rise out of Vegeta.

Vegeta knew the Namek was baiting him, but he was not letting him get away with a statement like that. Besides arguing was better than sitting in the freezing cold in complete silence.

'Well" he began, equally condescending "I don't get why you only show up when Kakarot's brat is in danger, do you just sit around waiting for someone to hit the kid before making your entrance? By the way coming up through the ground that was stupid, what good did any of that do?" Vegeta got the desired result, he felt the Namek stiffen in irritation. Mentioning Gohan was a surefire way to get a response. Vegeta smirked to himself.

"They can't sense energy so I had the element of surprise, unlike some people who showed up to the fight by bursting through a fucking glacier."

"Shut the hell up Namek, like you can talk, you are the king of dramatic entrances you usually rush in, cape dramatically blowing in the wind, you enjoy swishing around in that thing way too much."

Vegeta mentally conjured up an image of the Namek practicing his entrances and laughed to himself.

"At least I'm the King of something, and I don't make prissy speeches on arrival about how I am ONLY HERE TO KILL KAKAROT, I at least admit I am there to watch out for Gohan."

Though they were still sitting back to back, Piccolo could feel the waves of anger coming off Vegeta. _'The truth hurts doesn't it Vegeta_' Piccolo thought smiling to himself.

"Prissy speech? Watch your mouth Namek. I was only there to make sure that bucket of tin was not going to kill Kakarot, that is my job. Kakarot is mine. Mark my words I am only there to ensure I deliver the blow that ends that idiot's life not some robotic toy." Vegeta crossed his arms

_'How dare he question my intentions' _Vegeta inwardly fumed.

"You really need to watch how you phrase your death threats, that sentence can be taken all sorts of ways." Piccolo chuckled to himself, wondering if Vegeta even understood the context what he was saying could be taken as.

Vegeta glared over his shoulder at the Namek whose back was turned, and wondered if punching him would topple the glacier or break it in half. Deciding the potential swim was not worth it Vegeta seethed silently. For a time they sat in silence on the iceberg, trying to forget the other was there while they regained their ki.

Piccolo felt Vegeta's glare, '_Well at least he understands double entendre, he's not as dumb as I thought' _Piccolo crossed his arms assuming their conversation was over, he wondered if he had pushed Vegeta a bit too far.

"You know what I never understood Namek…" Vegeta said softly. Piccolos ears twitched in response, surprised Vegeta had willingly chosen to continue their awkward, cramped conversation. "Why doesn't Kakarot just use the god dammed Sprit Bomb at the beginning of the fight. He always ends up doing it. It would save all of us a lot of time if he just started the fight with the thing. "

"You're right…..that would make everything so much easier," Piccolo responded. It was Vegeta's turn to be surprised the Namek rarely admitted he was right about anything. "Dr Wheelo, Turles, Lord Slug, Brolly, this guy. I mean, the attack would probably be way more effective if he asked for our energy before we got the shit kicked out of us. King Kai was an idiot to teach that attack to Son and not someone with an actual, functioning brain."

"Speak for yourself Namek, I was barley bruised by that idiotic Tin Man" Vegeta scoffed.

"Sure Vegeta, whatever you say," Piccolo let that comment slide, he knew Vegeta was as injured as he was, but unlike Piccolo, Vegeta would be in pain a lot longer, Saiyans did not heal as quickly or as effectively as Nameks.

"Anyway," Piccolo continued, "as much as I'd love to continue floating with you on a frozen chunk of ice I am about ready to fly the hell out of here. This conversation, is it over?"

"Not till the fish jumps" replied Vegeta, dead serious. Piccolo was just about to ask him what that even meant, when a large fish leapt out of the water next to them.

"It's over"

As Piccolo flew home, he wondered just how hard Vegeta had been hit in the head by Android 13.

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><p>AN

As mentioned before this is not the last chapter. There are actually two more, the last long chapter which is the original conclusion to the story, and another shorter chapter that will follow.

I know I have been taking a while but it has been so long since I have seen the Buu Saga I have been trying to re-watch parts of it to better get a feel for it.

Thanks for reading!


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